Gone With The Wind
by FireFairy219
Summary: It was her 16th birthday but, unlike normal birthdays, hers takes a turn for the worse when an unknown visitor crashes the party. Two years later, the Digidestined receive an urgent message from the Digital World...
1. Chapter One

**GONE WITH THE WIND**

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended; I do not own Digimon nor do I own the song "Chapter One" by Lifehouse. The only thing I do own is the storyline.

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**1. CHAPTER ONE**

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**"Nana** naa na naa, nana na naa" a certain auburn haired girl hummed to herself as she took the key of her apartment out of her bag.

It was a Saturday afternoon and the weather forecast had predicted a lovely weather, despite it being just spring. So, she had decided to wear a blue well-fitting jeans and a flowing red top with spaghetti straps that morning; courtesy of Mimi, who had made it her personal mission to introduce her to the wonderful world of fashion and style. And although they didn't always agree on what was wearable and sometimes a little, let's say, too revealing, her courses had worked their magic to transform her from a tomboy into a more girly girl over the years.

'_Where could they all have gone? I mean, they're not at Tai's, Matt didn't have band practice but he wasn't home either and Mrs. Tachikawa said Mimi's not out shopping but she couldn't tell where else she might've gone to... No sight of Joe, Izzy, Kari or TK either... Something very strange is going on here.' _

Frowning at the door because of this, which, if there were any witnesses present, would've probably looked like she was angry at the entrance for not opening on pure willpower, she thought:_ 'Oh well, guess I'll have to spend the rest of the day on my own._'

When she was about to insert the key in the lock, though, a sudden gust of wind from behind her almost made her drop it and sent shivers up her back immediately, prompting an eerie presentiment. All worries about her friends' whereabouts were put aside and alarm bells in her head went off, ringing heavily to the point of near deafness. That is, if real bells could go off in one's mind, in this case resulting in near _imaginative_ deafness.

However, when she turned around, expecting some sort of change, even considering a mugger standing right behind her in an attempt to tackle her and break into her house, nothing seemed to be out of place. Except maybe the sunshine that had disappeared, clouds having moved in front of it, which made her corridor look like it was drained of colour, a fact that only enforced her paranoia.

The feeling of looming darkness wouldn't subside.

After staring down the corridor a bit longer though, inspecting every possible cause, she shook it off as an unclosed window in the hallway a couple of floors below and turned around to put the key in the door lock. She took one last glance behind her, frowning at the strange airstream and odd fading colours, and still not seeing anything out of the ordinary she entered her apartment.

KABOOM! A red balloon exploded right into her surprised face and confetti flew up in the air, covering her in a rain of coloured circles of paper.

For a moment of sheer unknowingness in which she instantly shifted her body so that it was ready to beat the hell out of her assailants, that was all she could see. But when the colourful curtain disappeared, she could make out seven familiar faces smiling up at her, others in tow.

"Happy birthday, Sora!" they all wished her.

Indeed, it was Sora's 16th birthday and her friends had gone through a lot of trouble throwing her a surprise birthday party. They had been busy for two weeks planning it, and more importantly keeping it hidden from her, which was rather nasty seeing as she could see through people pretty easily.

She dropped her fighting stance, realising that muggers usually don't throw confetti at their victims, and was dragged inside to enjoy the traditional customs birthdays were all about. Barely having time to take it all in and curse herself for having forgotten her own birthday, she had to endure lots of impediments such as holding in her breath for a long time due to being hugged to death by everyone present in the room, or using the most facial muscles possible because of her constant smile when she could finally use oxygen again and saw her friends making a big happy fuss handing over their presents.

Well, "impediment" may not be the appropriate word in this context, but from a subjective point of view, it was certainly fitting.

Sora felt her heart swell of joy, and it finally set in: from this day on, she was officially 16 years old. Every ounce of previous obscurity vanished at this realisation.

_'This means we've known each other for 5 years already... 5 years since we became the Digidestined.' _Happy times were remembered as their wild adventures sprang into mind.

However, the ginger haired girl was pulled away from her trip down memory lane when she perceived what her friends and mother had done to her living room. Her mouth almost fell open because of sheer amazement at its metamorphosis.

Her living room, which had been a combination of white, beige and brown shades now more resembled a circus. Places where cupboards, tables and chairs usually, and as far as she knew, stood were now transformed into rainbow coloured attributes, laden with food and drinks. That is, if popcorn, pancakes, cake and fizzy drinks can be considered edible items.

Music was drumming through several speakers she presumed were Matt's contribution; ribbons and streamers were spread all over, a larger banner with "HAPPY BIRTHDAY SORA!!" hanging from the ceiling, which was most likely the girls' doing, and everywhere Sora looked everybody was having a good time. In short, a real circus, or as some high school students like to call it: a 'party', minus animals that is.

At least, that's what she thought anyway, until she saw two of her friends pass by.

"I'm telling you, TS, she's going to ask me out any minute now" Davis said confidently – well, as far as looking confident goes with a mouthful of various pieces of food. TK, who was walking beside the aforementioned boy in turn opened his mouth to bring his friend out of this dream world and ask him how he managed to produce words at all, but settled for a mere sigh. He was used to Davis' inexplicable powers of fitting enormous amounts of food inside his mouth and still being able to pronounce understandable words while doing so. And he knew Davis would never admit there was even the slightest possibility he could be wrong about the subject, something the never ending misspelling of TK (seriously, how hard can it be to spell two letters correctly?) proved.

Yep, her living room had definitely been morphed into a circus, 'animals' included. Sora smiled at their antics and praised her friend, about whom the two were bickering about, lucky. Although, at the same time, she couldn't help but feel tinges of jealousy directed at Kari. At least she _had_ someone who loved her, Sora reasoned. And, in her case, two someones.

Don't get her wrong, though, Sora loved all of her friends dearly and would never say one bad word about them. But she did envy them.

It wasn't only Kari who made her feel this way, Mimi, her best friend did too. For you see, Mimi and Sora don't exactly share the same interests, or social groups for that matter. In fact, all they share is their friendship, that sprouted on their adventures in the Digital World. If it hadn't been for that fateful event, they probably would've never spoken to each other at all. Whereas Sora is the sportive loving one, not popular at all, Mimi is the kind of girl who never crosses the aisle to take her schoolbooks out of her locker without her fan club swarming around her like bees who admire their queen.

But, unlike other bee queens you see in teenage movies, Mimi never acts snobby or bites off noses, regardless of what one might think – unless of course, those people deserve it, which is probably why Sora and Mimi got along so well: they are both kind-hearted people. The fact that they've gone to another world could also play part in this friendship, though.

She looked about her and found the pink haired, short skirted, good looking girl talking to a couple of boys who looked like they were about to drool on her every minute. Mimi, on the other hand, was doing her best not to seem too annoyed.

Well, that was an obvious failure.

_Boys can be so dense!_ She could practically hear Mimi bellowing this, as she had complained about it on several previous occasions.

Sora decided it would be best not to mingle in the conversation and save herself from what would probably end up in Mimi trying to hook her up with some cute guy at the party, leaving the ones in front of her to stare after her as if she had been a shiny object that had dazzled them so much they were too slow to call back after her.

One of her closest friends, Tai, approached her and put a party hat on her head.

"Why're you standing here all by yourself, birthday girl? This is no way to act on a party" he admonished, waving his finger at her.

"Not everyone is like you Tai, having an inexhaustible amount of energy to dance the entire time."

"Meh, they should, though! You didn't see this one coming, did you Sor?" he said with a goofy grin plastered on his face.

"No, I have to say, I'm just speechless", the obviously happy birthday girl replied. "But very surprised you managed to pull this one off."

"Yeah, I have to admit, keeping everything a secret from you was one hell of a job," Tai stated putting his arm behind his head laughing a bit nervously. "They threatened to put me in a closet and put tape over my mouth because they knew you'd see I had something to hide from you."

"But I didn't cave in" he announced proudly.

"I already thought you were acting suspiciously", Sora pulled him out of his fantasies.

"I believe Matt promised me two large boxes of chocolate cookies if I shut up. Hmm, better let him know, you know, just in case he forgot," Tai decided with a big wink, quickly leaving with a hungry stomach, not having heard his friend's reply.

'_Same old goofy Tai.' _

Turning around to pour herself a drink, she saw Joe and Izzy sitting only a metre or two away from where she was standing, debating on what seemed to be either a scientific or computer-related subject. Or both.

"Say guys, why aren't you dancing like everyone else? No need to crawl in a corner, I mean look at Tai" she said, glancing at the improvised dance floor where the boy in question seemed to be shaking his body on the music conspicuously. If it were due to alcohol or an overdose of sugar, she couldn't tell.

"Are you kidding me? I'd rather be doing homework than perform such dangerous moves which are bound to result in some sort of injury." Joe replied instantly, unaware of Sora's ironic hint.

"We were actually discussing an important matter."

"Really? Just what may this important matter be?" she asked the redhead politely, anticipating an excited explanation full of superintelligent terms mere mortals weren't capable of understanding.

"Well, I guess we could tell you seeing as you're the Bearer of Love and all." Izzy shifted his eyes to Joe, who addressed Sora with a question she had not at all expected.

"You know the girl who sits two rows in front of me on the left side in my Trigonometry class? I think I like her. Like _like_ her. And I've got absolutely no clue how to make her notice me. Could you give me some advice?" he practically begged of her.

"Yeah, and the girl arguing with Davis right now, you know Yolei, the one with the lavender hair and the huge temper from Kari's year, has a crush on me. Any idea how to make clear to her I don't exactly return her feelings with me actually coming out alive at the end?" Izzy added worriedly.

"Uh... Well, uhm... I gotta go to the bathroom for a sec, sorry" she excused herself with a small smile, hurrying off to the other side of the house. She didn't turn around again to see her friends' baffled looks at her strange behaviour.

'_What the hell is wrong with me?! Why couldn't I answer their questions? It's not like I wouldn't have known what to answer, I carry the Crest of Love goddammit. Yeah, I should just go back and tell them what to do. Joe just has to.. Uhm.. Well, Izzy's got to... Argh! This is insane! I can't even answer them in my head! What's wrong with me?! Love is supposed to be my area of expertise, right? Why else would the Digital World entrust the Crest to me?'_

'_Have you forgotten how long it took for you to actually figure out its meaning? And it's not like that kind of love is the only one in the world. Romantic feelings are completely off limits for you. It's pathetic, really.'_

Sora looked at herself in the mirror, her hands firmly gripping onto the sides of the washbasin. "Great, now my own head is talking back to me."

But what she saw only increased her feelings of insanity. She could've sworn she had switched on the light when entering the small bathroom, but as she reopened her eyes at the sink, all was covered in darkness, the only light source coming from the full moon and a lamppost in her street which shone through the window above the bath tub. Frowning at what appeared to be her own stupidity, she tried again. No lights.

To top it off, the same strange wind she had felt in the corridor made her shiver again. Knowing there was no way it could've come from the closed window, she began to panic somewhat. Opening the bathroom door again, preferring a blunder with her friends over an unknown force creeping her out, she made her way back to the living room, practically running to get there.

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Something was out of place. The perfectness that came with living with a control freak mother, at least in household matters, should not allow the bright-polished cupboards or the Mr. Proper floor to be grey, not even when it was rampaged by a bunch of teenagers for at least 4 hours. And were the walls always this void of colour? Come to think of it, her guests were not acting like they normally would on a party. The vivid teens who were always filled with exuberant energy now were coming her way with a look that could come right out of a zombie movie.

There was only one explanation for their strange behaviour: this was a dream.

'_More like a nightmare'_, she added for herself. '_Okay, nothing to worry about, they're just a little drunk, that's all_.' Unconsciously, she started to put distance between herself and the others.

'_This cannot be happening' _she thought, '_wasn't I just at the party? I can't remember going to bed already...'_

When she felt the wall bump into her back, the gap she had created between them started to close up again.

"What's wrong, Sora? Aren't you happy we all came to see you?" Matt asked her.

"This is no way to act on a party." Tai's expression, that once had been like it had always been, goofy and smiling at her, suddenly contorted into a hungry smile. She had never, not once in the 10 years she had known him, seen him like this. As a reaction, she tried to move even further backwards, but the stupid wall kept her from moving another inch.

"Yeah Sora. What's up girl? Are you sad, because _I_ have boys lining up before me and you haven't even kissed one?"

Sora could not believe it, her ears must have been playing tricks on her. How could Mimi know what she had been contemplating not an hour ago? Moreover, why would she even bring it up, especially at a time like this? Surprise and hurt were evident on her face, conflicting with each other as to which was the stronger one. Hurt won.

"You're right Mimi. I mean, I'm just 14 and even I got a boyfriend. Isn't that right, smoochiekins?" she asked the blonde boy beside her seductively, TK himself responding in a way equally sensual.

More pangs of hurt were sent straight to her heart, visibly causing her to wince.

"You want us to show you what love is, dear Sora?" zombie Tai added. Not waiting for her reply, which she could never have given anyway due to her state of utter shock, he grabbed Mimi around her waist moving his hand slowly, but closely following the outlines of her white skirt towards her bum.

Sora's eyes welled up at the sight, anger and hurt filling her mind, so much that she was completely stupefied by the event enfolding only two metres away from her to even feel them shed.

Mimi, in turn, weaved her hands through Tai's wild brown hair and moved her body so that it was entwined with the young man whose hands and other body parts clung to her as if they were afraid to never feel a thing again if they were to let go, letting her other hand race over his body the same way. Their lips seemed to be waging a war against each other, moving too fast for the bystanders to even catch which ones belonged to which person.

At this sight, repulsive to the core, Sora closed her eyes shut, causing more tears to roll down her cheeks. Her legs gave way under her and she slid down the wall.

'_No more.'_

The kiss, if it could even be described as such, made Sora flinch for what felt like the umpteenth time that evening. She felt her heart change matter. What was alive and palpating just moments ago was now twisting and contracting, until she felt it to be made of something that resembled stone. An inevitable gasp was released at the feeling of it being out of place.

She wanted to toss it away, burn it, do anything in her might to remove the large amount of hurt coursing through her body. However, there was no time to consider which option would fit best as she felt it fall from her chest in slow motion, collapsing on the floor and shattering to an infinite number of pieces, too small to even consider picking up, leaving nothing but a hollow hole in its wake.

The auburn haired girl couldn't care less.

"Stop it" she managed to whisper.

As everyone present was busy watching the pink princess and the goggle-wearing football star, even cheering them on, no one caught those faint words.

Not able to take any more of it, Sora yelled: "Stop it!"

Several heads turned in the direction of the high pitched noise this time, but something was amiss. Time seemed to go slower than usual and by the time the 'couple' had managed to untangle themselves it appeared to have stopped entirely.

"What's happening?" a teary-eyed Sora asked, still in a daze.

Out of nowhere, wind started to blow, signalling a black hole opening in the ceiling above her almost instantly. Her hair swept across her face, almost preventing her from seeing an unknown small form descending from the fissure that warped her living room and its occupants, who already looked drained from colour.

The figures standing in the middle of the living room remained unmoved by this strange phenomenon. Unlike Sora, who was petrified. What could possibly cause a dark portal to open in her house? Heck, what would cause a portal to open _any_where? Her question was soon answered as a voice boomed from the ceiling, not showing a face or any other human part to indicate where exactly it came from. The only prominent features she could make out after a couple of moments of squinting, were two long arms protruding from the small bodice of the strange creature, which only added to her worries and fright.

"Do you see now?" the oddly familiar sounding voice called out, "Are they really your friends if they put you through something like this?"

"Who are you? And what do you want with me?" she replied in a courageous attempt.

"Ah, already a question I cannot answer for the time being. I can however tell you I am no enemy and that I am here to help you."

"Help me, with what?" Sora asked suspiciously.

"With your view on love, dear child."

At this, a frown creased her forehead, both at suspicion and confusion, and a feeling of truth backfiring at her triggered a blush of embarrassment, as if she had been caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar. Memories about lovey-dovey couples crept into her head along with her doubts as to what the true definition of love was. She had pondered its meaning for countless times, never getting a satisfactory conclusion. Sometimes it seemed to be happiness and caring for other persons, whereas other times, it looked like all it resulted in was hurt and broken hearts.

Of course, she had unlocked her crest years ago when she realised why her mother kept her from doing the things she wanted; she did it out of worry and concern for her only child, having a strong urge to protect her from any harm. But as the years passed, Sora came to realise that that might not be the only love out there.

Being a fervent fan of romantic novels she had seen her fair share of love stories, movies, books, TV shows; name it, she knows it. Her friends had always ascribed this passion to her affinity to her crest, but for Sora herself, there was more to it. She had taken an interest in love stories because she simply wanted to find out what it meant, and not just settle for a fragment of its essence.

However, as time progressed, she began to despair if she would ever retrieve what she was looking for. The longer she searched, the more she leaned towards the more negative connotation, which, in this particular situation, could not be a good thing.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Tell me this instant what you've done to my friends!"

"I have done nothing to them what they didn't want to do themselves. What you've just witnessed was of their own free will, I am merely here to offer you an exit to your feelings. You shouldn't deny them, for I can see right through you."

The mysterious being did have a point. Her feelings were mixed up badly as of late, almost going as far as to drive her to the point of depression. Maybe it weren't so bad if she were to admit to his inquiry?

"What will happen to my friends and my mother if I were to go?" Sora spoke carefully "I have to be sure they're safe..."

Every other normal person would not even consider this given option, but Sora was not a normal girl. Not since that evening that is; not after she been hurt tremendously by those she believed could be trusted at all times, betrayed by her closest friends who made a fool out of her in front of every other invited person, not after her dreams and thoughts were smashed in a time span of a few minutes and were lying on the ground, shattered and visible for everyone to humiliate her even more. This was a reality she could not live with.

"They will be fine once we have returned to my residence, I assure you."

As she had not found the courage to stand up again during the 'incident', she now pushed herself to her feet in order to escape the aching hole inside her where her heart had once been.

Her eyes darkened, tears no longer drowning her eyesight, and with clenched jaws and fists, her gaze befell those who were frozen in time.

Tai with a lipstick smothered mouth.

Mimi and her triumphant smirk, looking directly at Sora.

Matt, who was cheering them on the most.

Kari and TK, resembling the embracing pose of their older friends.

Joe, who appeared to have solved his love problem on his own and whose hands were wrapped around the Trigonometry girl.

Izzy, whose mouth was open and fist was up in the air, and if the flow of time had not been affected would've probably yelled something to the couple as well.

Her mother, who she had not seen before, with a malicious smile plastered on her face like the others who had been cheering on the ones closest to her.

And the rest of the crowd, who looked at her wickedly, enjoying her previous breakdown, daring her to fall to pieces even more.

Filled with disgust and not able to take more of this, she averted her gaze. She needed to run away, run off with the only one who seemed to give her a solution and a way out of her crumbled world.

"I will come. And I no longer care what happens to them. I can never forgive them for what they've done to me." Her eyes darkened another tint at this and she turned to her saviour. "They're no friends of mine."

"Take me with you."

"As you wish, my child", the figure replied, a clear hint of victorious laughter in its voice.

The vortex once again began to open, sweeping her hair in front of her eyes as the wind blew into her strongly. She sneaked one last peek at her own world, at the stars, shining brightly now alongside the eternal moon. No remorse could be seen in her posture.

As the swirling darkness engulfed her and her living room was warped for the second time in half an hour, every happy memory was banned from her mind, every friendly gesture ever made towards her, every joyous moment; erased as she was transported, like a film that was played in reverse, unravelling her life and only maintaining the bad times.

She didn't bother to care though. All she wanted was escape.

And thus, she vanished, leaving her old life behind.

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Well, what did you think? This is my first fanfic ever and my first attempt at writing something remotely creative for a change, so be nice plz. :)

-x-


	2. Mess of Me

**GONE WITH THE WIND**

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended; I do not own Digimon nor do I own the song "Mess of Me" by Switchfoot. The only thing I do own is the storyline.

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**2. MESS OF ME**

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**Tuesday**, 20th of April 2010. A regular annoying Tuesday like any other to many, meaning it was the day that comes after Monday and the one that precedes Wednesday. The annoying part was that it was the day after the day of a new week, which meant it was too soon to long for the new weekend already, it being too far away, and also indicated that the daily drag had been adjusted to, unfortunately. Thus, Tuesday was not a welcoming day and did not have a very good reputation amongst the majority of the human population. Other than that though, nothing noteworthy could be said about it.

However, this particular Tuesday _did_ have a special meaning. Not because it is some sorts of state holiday, or a day to celebrate. Definitely not.

Not in the mind of the 18-year-old boy lying wide awake in bed anyway, or what appeared to be a bustle of blankets and brown hair. This boy, who obviously had difficulties sleeping, was tossing and turning feverishly to get rid of his disturbing thoughts and memories. He genuinely dreaded Tuesday. This Tuesday. The 20th of April.

Letting an angry and defeated growl escape his mouth, he gave up his fight with the linen cloths, and closed his eyes to beg for some sleep regardless of the awkward position he was currently in.

For him, Tuesday the 20th of April was a merciless reminder of what had been lost exactly two years ago. A day very much like the one to come; at least, according to the weatherman (who's always wrong). That fateful day in which his whole life had collapsed.

It's funny actually when one thinks about the fact that an entire life, one that's 16 years long, that had been built up day after day, could fall apart in but a moment. He had always thought it would take some time to undo what has been done, but no. The ironic twisted sick taste of humour that Fate mocked everybody with was not appreciated by most people and it remains to this point a notion unknown to mankind why Fate had it in for some and smiled at others all the time.

Let's just say that this brown haired boy who was far from happy and Fate weren't the best of friends.

The feelings of helplessness, guilt, pain and anxiety returned to him, bringing along equally painful and bitter memories. By now, his eyes were shut so tightly, tear drops were forming in the corners of his eyes.

Needless to say, Taichi Kamiya was not fond of this day at all.

Groaning again, he reopened his eyes and glanced at the alarm clock on his left to see school didn't start for over two hours. But even though it was only 6:04AM and he had the possibility to sleep in for another hour, he knew himself and there was no way he was going to fall asleep again.

Throwing his blanket off of him, he silently began to search for his school uniform through various piles of clothes, soccer related items and probably food residues, that were scattered around his room. This appeared to be more difficult than he had suspected, as a low thump could be heard not a minute after he had left the safe haven called a bed.

He righted himself and found that today's clothes were right next to where he now was sitting/lying.

'_Okay, maybe I should've just put on the lights first.'_

Picking them up, he went into the bathroom down the hall and remembering his last mistake, switched the light on to see another worn out boy looking back at him from the mirror.

The reflecting glass bluntly told him he looked horrible. Bags under the eyes, most likely a result of the two hours' sleep of the previous night and nightmares that had been playing the same record over and over again for a week now. Pale skin because of a lack of sun shine, and a slender body.

Not caring about this disturbing sight, he stripped down and stepped into the shower. He decided to put the water extra hot and let it pound his back ruthlessly. He had been doing this shower routine for two years already, on the days... that were more difficult to handle, simply because he felt as if the water could wash away more than just dirt and soap. He guessed he kind of craved this, because it made him feel as if the heavy burden was slightly lifted and made him numb enough to forget about it once in a while.

Numbness was good.

Today however, the familiar method wasn't working. He had hoped it would though, but he had no expectations whatsoever.

After drying himself off and putting on the trousers and shirt, he combed his hair without looking at the steamed mirror again and left for breakfast, knowing he probably could not eat anyway.

By then, the sun had begun to wake up from its slumber as well and some strokes shone through the curtains in the kitchen, shedding blinding light on his face when he opened them.

Tai met them with a grimace and poured himself a large cup of strong coffee.

Taking a swig out of it, he thought: _'Yep, it's going to be one of those days.'_

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_Meanwhile, at the other side of town, another boy was already up and about and was on his way to a place unknown, with a humongous headache coming on. His blond locks ruffled in the wind and although it was already April, the coldness it possessed sent a shiver down his spine.

As he walked around like a knight errant, he tried to remember what had happened the night before, because he had no recollection of getting home after his small gig in one of the local cafés, which, anyone had to admit, was kind of disturbing.

'_Say, you look pretty tonight' he complemented the orange haired girl in front of him, who looked at him admiringly._

'_Me?' she asked surprised, eyes dilating and voice squeaking._

_He winked and flashed her his trademark lopsided grin to make his flirting more convincing and saw that the groupie girl totally fell for it, as she looked like she was about to turn to pudding any minute. _

_His irresistible attraction powers he had mastered over the years never lost their effect._

'_Sure. Do you want to go and have a drink after I've played another song or two?'_

_She squealed in excitement that the (in)famous lead guitar player and singer of the well-known band 'The Teenage Wolves' would ask HER out, an average girl from down the street._

_He took this as a yes and gave her a quick peck on the cheek before winking again as he climbed on the improvised stage again to do what had to be done. _

'_Silly girls' he thought smugly. _

_Letting a sigh escape his mouth, he closed his eyes and let the spot light penetrate his eye lids. A metre or so behind him, the drummer smashed his drum sticks against one another and a genuine smile erupted on Matt Ishida's face. The music started to play and as the beats pounded on his ear drums, his own heart beats grew accustomed to them, having done so plenty of times before. His eyes flashed open and he sang. Just sang, and completely forgot about the world around him._

By now, his headache had developed in a throbbing pulsation that overmastered his attempts at reminiscing and, groaning at the consequences a hangover entailed, he yielded to the simple explanation that he will never exactly know how he managed to get home soundly and have the aforementioned girl lying next to him, seeing as the last thing he could recall was going out with her.

Well, you didn't have to be an Einstein or an Izzy to work out what had happened next of course and perhaps he didn't want to fill in the blanks.

He had kicked her out just now and felt no remorse or any other emotion but annoyance, although the groupie sincerely swore they had shared something special.

'_Special, my ass. Just as special as all those other girls probably.'_ The frequency of these events had not contributed to his friendliness or any other positive sentiments. Just plain annoyance until he found another one and put up his seducing mask again to repeat the cycle.

He was fully aware of what day today was and did feel a pang of surprise and shock at the familiar looking creature this morning when he opened his ice blue eyes. But he had rapidly shook off such ridiculous thoughts as the girl in question had turned around and greeted him lovingly. Only, it wasn't the loveliness he had anticipated and unfortunately for the lookalike, he had sent her out without a second thought.

Maybe he had been a little too harsh on her.

'_I don't even remember her name.'_

Maybe he should've kicked her out more friendly.

'_Yeah, like that'd make any difference' _he sourly thought. _'Can people even kick someone out in a friendly way? Isn't that a paradox or something?'_

This brought him back to today, Tuesday the 20th of April. He huffed at the memorial date.

Memorial, the term people use when they talk about a day on which a lot of important people have died and are commemorated. Commemorating. Dead. AKA the point of no return.

He recalled his teacher had told him once there was a Memorial Day in the US every year, a day on which everybody grieved for forgotten souls who had nobly given their lives for the good cause of the eradication of slavery over two centuries ago. Although, the cause wasn't really that noble when one gave it some thought; the authorities had just played around for their own benefit and Lincoln hadn't intended to abolish slavery, that was just a euphemism the civilians had concocted to give it a patriotic illusionary meaning, what it still is up to today. Lincoln wasn't near as renowned in his own era than he is now; the saviour of the slaves, the knight in shining armour. Probably another major historical jerk that the course of history had adulated. However, now only few still think about the reasons a nation has for instituting a holiday; people are just glad they get to stay home for a change. At least, that was his opinion whenever he got to stay home, perhaps the Americans were far more nation prone.

He was somewhat surprised his brain still had enough cells, and working ones as well, to think that elaborately. But then again, when you replace the authorities by a Japanese investigation team and the people by the news anchors, it seems very similar, if not identical, to a certain situation two years ago.

"Which I can't get out of my freaking aching head!" he more than spoke out loud. This earned him various curious glances from random people who were walking to school or were on their way to work around him.

"He he... He." He embarrassedly put his hands up in an attempt to preserve his sanity in public, but at 7:30 in the morning, people had difficulties believing this.

Deciding the day would not go by more quickly when he yelled to himself in his mind (or out loud), he stepped into the nearest café to order a large espresso – no milk, no sugar – only to find himself hallucinating again. Auburn shortly cut hair, ruby eyes and a gentle smile he would recognize anywhere met him when he entered the small coffee smelling edifice.

It must be a coffee shop like the ones they had in Europe or something, because..

This. Could. Not. Be. Real!!

* * *

BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP!!

Izzy Izumi awoke with a start, alarmed by the alarming sound his good old Pineapple laptop was emitting. Purple covers flew up in the air as a red spiky mass of hair and orange and red lined pyjamas rushed out to cross the neatly arranged bedroom and drop down on the swivel desk chair on the other side of it.

His highly developed brain however, like every other normal human being, could not instantly grasp what the electric piece of equipment was trying to communicate. Red signs flashed frantically across the screen and, for a moment, that was all he could make out.

It had been a while since the last time he had used this particular computer, but this was not the reason why he couldn't make out what was happening.

It's not every day that you get an outer world message.

After adjusting his sleepy eyes to the vivid colours, he managed to focus his professional eyes, and saw that it was a message of great importance. Only a couple of words were needed to indicate its severity.

"Emergency" and "Digital World" was all it took for the local boy genius to sober up from whatever sleeplike condition he was still experiencing.

And after the initial shock, he furiously began to type away on the overused keyboard, but although the letters and signs had faded almost entirely, he knew exactly where to slam his fingers to get out of the fuzzy message what he needed. Years of computer experience had taught him where to start looking for specific codes and other geeky stuff no one bothered to listen to. Pretty stupid though, as he had unravelled a good many technological mysteries and even managed to stop a governmental missile once from wiping out a big part of the Odaiban population. People admired him for his qualities, but no one outside his own computer club or internet acquaintances could really appreciate and understand this.

Now if only he could figure out this mystery. Unfortunately though, the message was damaged pretty badly so it wasn't really like opening your email.

Half an hour of increasing despair in deciphering later, he decided that when you try 36 ways to obtain something, it would be best to just let it rest for a while.

No, he had not forfeited at all, but time had caught up with him as his mother knocked on his door at 8AM to ask him whether he shouldn't get ready for school yet, seeing as how it started half an hour later.

"Yes Mum! I'm up! I just have to call the others and then I'll be out!"

"But Izzy, if you don't hurry up you'll be late for school. You'll see them there, won't you?"

'_Yes, but I'm not so sure if telling some of them in person will be such a good idea'_, he grimly thought.

* * *

Mimi Tachikawa was late, and by that, I mean _very_ late. Due to her lack of sleep, she had forgotten to set her alarm clock and now was bearing the inevitable consequences of her unthoughtfulness.

"Late, I'm _so_ late! Ugh, what day is today?" She frowned at herself for not even remembering the days of the week properly as she glanced at her home-made calendar that hung above her desk, while at the same time trying to figure out if her pink T-shirt would match the trousers she wore yesterday.

The creases in her forehead grew even more when she realised that she had even forgotten _that_.

'_Crap. Today just isn't my day, huh?'_

Remembering she was in a hurry, she tore her mascaraed amber eyes away from the calendar and once more faced the dilemma of clothes she encountered daily. Others may think this is kind of weird, since she had such a good eye for stylish items, but she countered that this was normal when the size of your closet equals the one of your actual bedroom.

Mentally kicking herself for even wasting such valuable time in thinking about her clothes (pink always matched her trousers, so it was pointless anyway), she hurried out of her room after propping a couple of needed books in her backpack and set off to school.

"Mom! I'm going to school now, okay? And I'll probably be back later today, so don't worry yourselves if I'm not home at 4 o'clock like I know you always do!" she yelled from the doorpost.

"Alright honey, but remember to take an umbrella with you! The weatherman said there is a good chance that it'll rain cats and dogs and I don't want you catching the flu or something. And be careful!" her mother good-heartedly shouted back from the kitchen.

"Sure Mom, I'll be careful. Bye!" And with that, our diva smashed the door shut.

An engine roared to life and with swift movements, the car drove down the driveway.

The blonde inside silently cursed and scolded herself for forgetting such an important date and in spite of her feelings of dread, her mind took her back to Japan, to all her old friends and to one in particular.

'_How can I forget such an important date! What's wrong with me?! I mean, I know I haven't exactly been having a lot of time to think about anything different than school work, prom organization and Michael... but really, these are no excuses for not thinking about it. Just listen to yourself here, Mimi! I must be the worst human alive. Normal people, caring people don't usually forget the date of their best friend's death. I really must be..'_

Coming out of nowhere, a girl around her age crossed the street Mimi was driving on, coming close to her car. Very close actually. Too close.

With screeching tyres the red Mini Cooper came to a halt and Mimi felt it collide with the person in front of her. All self-pitying thoughts vanished from her mind as she was dazed by what had just transpired in a time span of mere seconds.

"Oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no!"

* * *

"Come forth my child", an eerie sounding voice spoke.

The creature it belonged to was currently sitting on what seemed to be a throne, but one couldn't be too sure when all around, darkness was lurking, only allowing the minimum of light so that its inhabitants would not bump into the walls.

A gust of wind rang throughout the room and with it, a figure with black wings was seen making its appearance.

As soon as the wind had appeared with a flash of light red, well light, the flames of the candles that lit up the room shook vehemently, trying their hardest to stay alive. Thankfully, the breeze was not strong enough to do just that, which was probably due to the grand size of the room now two creatures were residing in.

"You called master?"

The wings that were visibly present when the unknown figure had appeared, were now inserted into the back of the human (because now, one could clearly see that the form was definitely not digital) and she (for the voice that had responded to the abiding of her lord sounded too high-pitched to be male) kneeled before the throne to show her status of inferiority. The creature in the high chair had taught her this important lesson of etiquette towards him a long time ago and looked pleased with his apprentice.

"Yes. I have important business to attend to, but first, I have the pleasure to give you the information we have all been waiting for for a long time now."

A wicked smile crept onto the creature's face.

"It has begun."

The girl responded with nothing more than a cold look and a bow to her master, but it was anticipated, for the "master's" smile increased as she kneeled before him.

"Dismissed."

And she disappeared in another reddish light, accompanied by a stronger gust of wind, this time extinguishing the few rays of light the candles were emitting.

* * *

**A/N**: Thank you for reviewing! :D I really appreciate it! And I'm sorry for the pretty late update (especially in comparison with some people who update weekly, I really admire them) but I just can't bring myself to write huge amounts of text in one or two times. It's like my minds shuts down then or something. So if I update again, it'll probably be another month or so. Yeah. I also blame it on the upcoming exams though :P I'm in my "paasblok" now, which literally translates in "Easter block". Basically, it's just another period where college people are supposed to study because they don't have the time to do so when the actual exams are there. Sorry, I'm rambling now :P

Till next time! ;)

-x-


	3. Have you ever seen the Rain

**GONE WITH THE WIND**

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended; I do not own Digimon nor do I own the song "Have you ever seen the Rain" by Creedence Clearwater Revival. The only thing I do own is the storyline.

* * *

**3. HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THE RAIN  
**

**

* * *

**

**Izzy** Izumi was frustrated, a state of mind that was evident in every movement he made. Walking across the hallway, one could hear angry marching feet resounding in the corridor, grumpily stomping on their way to the computer lab. And indeed, a moment later, the door of the aforementioned classroom was opened with more force than needed and another moment later closed with the same vehemence.

It was a rare sight to behold for the pupils of Odaiba High, seeing as they had never before seen the Computer Club president in a grumpy mood. At least, not this noticeable. He could sometimes complain about stuff, which most of the times involved a falling out with a certain Tai, but never before had his eyes taken on the now visibly flummoxed glint at the same time.

It was indeed very uncharacteristic of him, but no one could actually blame him if they knew what was the turmoil of his mind that day.

Then again, understanding would prove to be fairly difficult, even if told, because how do you explain to someone that you hold the digital key to unlock an urgent message that could jeopardise possibly two worlds? And that you just weren't smart enough to comprehend how to turn it?

People wouldn't be able to handle that information, not even when it came from a promising young boy genius. The most likely thing to happen upon mentioning that would be the casting of nervous glances towards him because of this apparent display of craziness, and afterwards some forced laughter to try and get him back to the real world.

Except, that was the case in point, it wasn't the real world that was at stake here.

Upon opening the entrance to the place of technology, Izzy took notice of several heads popping up from behind a computer screen, and inwardly, he groaned at the prospect of dealing with everyday life when inside, he felt like far from undergoing the daily routine.

"Hey Sensei! What's up?" a 15-year-old bespectacled girl happily greeted him.

"Huh-what? Oh, hey Yolei. Nothing really, just a lot on my mind today."

"Oh?" Yolei's voice received specks of curiosity, and she focused her eyes critically on her mentor.

Next to her, a good-looking boy around the same age was looking at their joint teacher with a more watchful eye, his emotions unfathomable. Half long blue hair fell in perfect movement over his ears, almost as far as to touch his uniform, that consisted of a white shirt and a green coat, and a tie that neatly fell into place. And although every student at Odaiba High was obliged to wear this, most of them against their will, it looked good on him. He was quite handsome for his age, a fact the official looking school uniform only encouraged, and this had not gone unnoticed by his overly curious neighbour. However, instead of gawking at what she would call "the local god", she sharply turned her head in his direction in disbelief when he spoke.

"I am sure Sensei Izzy would tell us if 'something was up' if it were relevant or necessary to share with his students, Yolei."

At this, not only Yolei was staring at him with a face that spoke of betrayal, also the subject of conversation himself, Izzy, contorted his frowning face into a surprised one upon hearing this.

'_So much for trying to cover up my frustrations.'_

"But Ken, can't you see Izzy's obviously got his knickers in a twist? We as his friends should help him get out of whatever problem he's in. Right Izzy?" She would not let him get away with this that easily, and turned her head back as sharply as before that he faintly wondered if the movement didn't provide her with a whiplash.

Izzy opened his mouth to immediately get her mind off of that impossible idea – after all, she couldn't possibly know about the Digital World – but then closed it again as sudden as he had opened it. In its place, another frown etched itself in the redhead's features as he pondered her question more carefully, an idea brewing.

'_I would have instantly discarded her remark, but maybe they _can_ help. I just need to leave out the reason why and mention nothing about the Digital World, otherwise... Well, let's say they will either drown me in questions or they'll think I'm as mad as a hatter... Yes, better leave that out.'_

"Maybe you're right Yolei", Izzy spoke up, stunning once more both Ken and Yolei, as the latter had never really expected to be answered positively.

"I am? Of course I am! Well Ken, I guess this proves that_ I_ am the one with better judgement of human nature." She turned once more, but much slower, with her hands on her hips and a triumphant smirk that graced her face.

Ken in turn let his face once more sink into an emotionless state as he questioned his ability to assess people silently, not quite understanding how a fellow genius such as the red-haired president of their Computer Club would be understood better by a gossipy, albeit computer-loving, girl than by himself.

"Well, I am having trouble in opening an important, but damaged email I received this morning. And I think I've tried absolutely every possibility there is, but I still can't figure out how to open it. If you know any methods that haven't been tried, please, feel free to share."

This shook both the girl out of her victorious reverie and the boy out of his self-wallowing state of denial, as they quickly went into techno mode and offered him their suggestions.

"Well, have you tried...?"

"Yes, I've done..." He enumerated every single way he had tried to make his computer work, and as expected, he saw their faces go from eager to helpless with every new word he spoke.

"Nothing works" he concluded. The frustration was making itself known again in the despair that resounded in every new sentence he spoke and his apprentices could see that this message was of great importance.

"If we knew where it came from, it would be easier to guess, you know."

"I'm sorry, but this file and its source must remain top secret."

Ken and Yolei glanced at each other at this, but silently agreed on trusting their mentor, as he had never before lied to them about anything and was a sincere person.

And so, they continued their brainstorming, acting as if that crucial question hadn't even been asked.

* * *

Concrete tiles passed by at a steady pace as blue sneakers brought their brown-haired owner to his destination on autopilot. A little ways up, the head of that owner was making torturous loops of memories again. And although it seemed as if his mind had been down that road nonstop as of late, it was as if it couldn't _not_ think about Sora.

Taichi's mind had a strong will of its own and Tai himself had a weak spot for those heart-cringing images; so, he did nothing to protest against them and let them cloud his vision, his feet having kicked in in order to bring him safe and sound to where he needed to be.

He noticed the tiles had come to a halt at a familiar-looking flower shop, and, remembering more happy times that the construction elicited, entered.

A pleasant ring rang throughout the good-smelling shop when he opened the door and met with a friendly-looking woman behind the counter, signalling her that she had a new visitor.

"Hello Taichi, to what do I owe this pleasure of seeing you so early in the morning?"

She silently took note of his green school uniform and the more than obvious symptoms of a sleepless night.

"I need some flowers, for uh, you know." He shifted his feet uncomfortably.

The lady's worn out, but customer-friendly smile disappeared, and without another indication from her client, went to the back of her small store to fetch a special set of arranged flowers she had put together that morning with much care.

When she arrived back at the counter, the woman took a long moment to look intently at the 18-year-old youth, as if she was conversing with him telepathically. Eventually offering him the bouquet without taking her eyes off of him.

"Thank you, Ms Takenouchi." He looked back at her with a face that spoke of gratitude and understanding that went far beyond the normal amount one expressed when being handed over a couple of flowers.

"No Taichi, thank _you_."

The flower-carrying boy slowly turned towards the exit but took one last glance at the middle-aged woman who probably understood him best at the moment. Not completely of course, because no one would be able to feel the exact same thing Tai was going through, but she sure came close. And so, he allowed himself to show her the sentiments he didn't want anyone to witness. For a second or two, his chocolate pools told her his whole spectrum of current emotions, a tumultuous sight at which she calmly replied by showing him her own.

A small sad smile escaped both their lips, and then he bravely turned his back at her and left the shop.

* * *

Izzy was in a pickle. He had finally unlocked the message and it had been burnt in his mind from the first time he had read it silently, but what was keeping him now from contacting those who were needed was the annoying ringing of the school bell. A sound that was normally a very welcoming one since it indicated the beginning of another period in which he would learn new things (and he loved learning new things), but when he had more important matters to pay attention to, annoyance was more likely to be displayed.

He arrived at homeroom only ten seconds after the teacher had entered, and was thankfully in time for the daily list of presences and absences. It wouldn't make a good impression if his perfect record was to be blemished by something as trivial as being too late. Even if it was with good reason.

"Izzy Izumi?"

"Here!" He said panting because of his sprint from the other side of the school.

"Taichi Kamiya?"

Silence.

"So the emo with the large hair decided to skip school again, eh?"

"I suppose. It doesn't surprise me, it's probably the fourth time in a month that he hasn't shown up."

"Taichi Kamiya?"

"Uhm, Ms? He told me this morning on the phone that he wouldn't be coming to school today, because he uhm... has the flu."

The teacher was not in the least surprised by the smart child's explanation, and nodded her head disapprovingly at the absent boy's behaviour. It seemed as if the more he went to school, the more he stayed at home to recover from all that learning he never seemed to participate in. But that was not of her concern at the moment, so she continued with ticking off names, only sighing at the transparent lie without another word about it.

'_So Tai hasn't made it to school today, huh? I can't blame him of course... but it sure won't make things any less difficult._' Izzy predicted gloomily_.  


* * *

_

"So then I told Kari: you clean my room and I'll clean yours. And she actually agreed to it! Of course, she didn't have that much of a choice, or else I was going to tell Davis about her little date with TK. I still can't believe she bought that, though. And besides, everybody knew those two would end up together eventually. But yeah, this is Davis we're talking about... Anyway, when I get home I'll have a floor again. And I'll only have to spend five minutes cleaning hers, because you know how organised she is, right?"

He bellowed an amused laugh at his own luck in getting away so easily, and glanced to his right to see the cold ivory stone he was leaning on stare back lifelessly. His smile faded to a sadder one again.

The lovely colourful bouquet had been placed neatly in the vase at the end of the tomb stone, wherein, if one were to look at the vase's bottom, his own name was engraved. The red-white contrast suddenly looked harrowing to him.

"I hope you like your flowers, Sor'. Your Mum put a lot of effort in them, and look, they're your favourites."

He stood up and stared at her name; futilely, since he had memorised the exact curves of the letters a long time ago. And at her date of death two years ago, also pointless to look at; how could he ever forget? And at her encased picture, where she was smiling and where she was proudly wearing the hairclip he had once given to her as a birthday present. This sight, added to his already sad smile, brought about tears, which he freely allowed to roll down his cheeks, since he was the only one present at the entire Odaiban graveyard and no one would notice his walls crumble.

'_Yes Taichi, I like them very much. Please, don't cry. And I'm glad you came to visit me today, I would've felt so alone if you hadn't. Well, except for my mother of course, but it's not the same. Come on, smile? For me?'_

A ghostly-looking Sora, identical to the picture behind glass up to her clothes and flowered hairclip that had appeared in his mind's eye in the form of a hologram, looked at him pleadingly, and he couldn't help but let out a smirk at her cute pouting face.

"If only you were real as well, then I'd truly smile. For you."

Hologram Sora shook her hologram head slowly, a small tugging of her lips telling him she had wanted to be as well but unlike him had accepted the fact that she wasn't. There was no way she ever would be real – he knew that deep down, and they'd been over that so many times already – but that didn't mean he couldn't wish it so. After all, those enchanting fairytales he always recounted to his sister when she was younger and still intrigued by those fantastic worlds had to come from somewhere, right?

"Ms Takenouchi seemed to cope a little better than last year, I think. Kind of. Maybe."

'_That's good. And you?' _A little frown was formed at what she knew wouldn't be a positive answer.

"As well as it goes, I guess... I've been thinking again."

She made a tsk-ing sound. _'How many times have I told you that your head isn't fit for all that? Unless your hair has brain cells as well! Just let it go, Taichi. Let me go.'_

"No!... I can't Sor'. I don't want to believe it! And I'll bring you back, I'll prove it to you, if it's the last thing I do!"

She didn't respond to his rant of what was probably on his mind for at least a week, consuming his every thought, and threw him one last wistful smile before her holographic particles disintegrated in light red little sparkles. They were just like a harmless and non-explosive piece of fireworks, that the wind carried with on one of its floats, accompanied by other dust particles.

His eyelids fluttered open and he found himself staring at solid rock again, inevitably releasing a sigh of regret and relief at having seen her image that mixed with the sudden breeze of wind that stroked his half-dried cheeks gently.

He grabbed his backpack off the pebbled path and was ready to leave.

BEEPBEEPBEEP

That is, if the backpack hadn't started to vibrate on its right, compelling Tai to fish out the cell phone first and see who had tried to contact him.

'_You have 1 new message by: Izzy.'_

Dialling the number he had learnt by heart, he listened to his voicemail, where a clearly agitated Izzy was telling him impossible things. Something about the Digital World being in danger again, an imprisoned Gennai, and a Digital World War on the verge of erupting if they didn't do something about it soon.

He could no longer listen to the information that would've normally invoked an overwhelming surge of adrenaline and heroism, and cut off the insistent voice by shutting his phone off. It was all just a load of crap anyway; it didn't matter. The only reason for him to set foot in that realm again would be Agumon, and even that wasn't something he looked forward to happening. Certainly not at one of the worst times of the year for him. Because, well, he wasn't sure anymore if he still qualified as the Chosen of Courage.

Someone who possesses courage, he reasoned, surely wouldn't break down on a tomb stone for something that has happened years ago. Someone who is brave wouldn't deny any social contact, scared that one might go and ask questions about the strange behaviour said courageous one was having - an uncourageous behaviour. And the one who wields the crest of Courage would never back down from jumping recklessly in a new, potentially dangerous, adventure to save his friends and loved ones.

And that person's crest would've certainly never changed from a bright and burning orange to a dull grey. Because that was what had happened to his encased mini-sun; she had gone black.

Now, Tai wasn't exactly the brightest bulb in the box, but even he could derive that such an occurrence could only predict not-so-happy consequences. For instance, going to the world that gave it to him in the first place. Or finding himself in a dire situation that required a higher digivolution.

No, you wouldn't be finding him there anytime soon.

Meanwhile, one cloud went over in another, and another, and another so that soon, all of the sky was covered in the same dull grey that his crest possessed. It wasn't long before the first predictable raindrop fell from the heavens, soiling the marble stone.

He lifted his teary-eyed face to the booming sky and let the droplets that covered his complexion mingle with the tears from above. With it, his lips curved upwards in a liberating motion.

"You always did like storms like this one, didn't you?"

Unwittingly, he had started to appreciate the soothing rain and its lovely smell as well.

The pitter-patters on the marble and the rumbling of thunder in the distance were his only answers. But he seemed to anticipate nothing more, and, feeling a little happier than before, left the graveyard to cope with the stormy weather on its own.

Not that he would've been able to do anything, of course.

* * *

"Well, I suppose you all know why I called you here. The Digital World is in need of our services once more, and this time requires our assistance in rescuing Gennai."

Several gasps were heard in the small circle that had gathered around the Computer Club president when he mentioned these last words.

"You mean Gennai won't be able to help us?" the blond asked a little worriedly.

"What do you mean, he needs our rescuing? This is Gennai we're talking about here. If there's any saving for us to do, it would be that of ourselves. I mean, if some evil force has managed to capture him in the first place, what can we do?" Joe nervously stated.

"Look you guys, I know this is a setback from what we were used to several years ago, but we can't always count on his presence to guide us, and we certainly can't just leave him to his fate."

This provided the group with a new piece of mind.

Kari spoke up almost instantly. "When do we leave?"

"All right. So, I suggest we go right after school, and we gather here in the computer lab. Unfortunately, my old computer hasn't got enough bits and bytes to guarantee a safe trip without limbs not making it on the other side, so we'll have to make do with the school's main computer."

Joe's face considerably took on a whiter shade when the possible loss of limbs was mentioned. "Yes, let's use the school's computer."

"... and I guess I'll meet you here in a few hours."

"Wait, Izzy. Where's Matt and Tai?" TK questioned their obvious absences.

Although he had expected this question, he couldn't help but flinch a little at his poor convincing failures. "I don't think they'll be joining us."

Another silence followed his words.

"Any more questions? No? Okay, see you later."

As everyone left the classroom to grab a bite in what was left of their lunch break and no doubt to discuss what has been said just now, Izzy remained in his seat. And it wasn't long before a large and loud sigh resounded throughout the room, causing some students that were sitting close-by and who had been unaware of what had transpired moments ago to look in his direction curiously.

It was indeed a strange sight to behold, but Izzy didn't care about his calm and reserved reputation. There were more important things to worry about at the moment. Namely, what exactly were they getting themselves into?

* * *

**A/N**: I'd like to thank MegumiFire and Miamau Kakashi for reviewing, and I hope people still want to read this because it has been a while since I updated. Okay, a huge while, but I'm not going to bore you with excuses ;) Please review, as it really is motivating to write faster.

Thanks for reading! And do click on that lovely review button, if only to say that it's the worst thing you've ever read or to scold me for my lack of updates :p


	4. Here It Goes Again

**GONE WITH THE WIND**

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended; I do not own Digimon nor do I own the song "Here It Goes Again" by OK Go. The only thing I do own is the storyline.

* * *

**4. HERE IT GOES AGAIN**

* * *

**Several** years had gone by since the well-known green-lined trolley, that was an everyday sight in the metropolises of Japan – Odaiba in particular – had magically taken flight and transported eight children to the sun of the Digital World, and had somehow brought them home safe and sound. Several years in the human world; but taken into account the digital world's time measurement, more than just several years there.

And, as with all things influenced by the course of time, this realm had changed, too. Its modifications were minor at first sight, but nevertheless severe when it soon became apparent that they were no mere consequences of nature's wrath over time. Instead, they had been voluntarily and consciously created by the hand of mon.

Of course, as of late, time flowed equally as fast in both dimensions, but not even all those previous decades – digital time – should have distorted the land that badly.

An obscure figure stood atop a mountain, a hiding place that ensured no living creature would be able to spot him or her lurking about, even though the population below was very scarce and practically zero. It was coldly gazing over one of the newly destructed areas from which smoke could be seen from miles away, billowing out of abandoned houses that could barely be made out as houses anymore. Thankfully though – or not – there was not one digimon left to witness their blackened remains.

This mysterious being seemed to be searching for something in particular, as its red eyes scanned from left to right and back and repeated that routine twice. Or perhaps it was checking to see if everything was, in fact, destroyed enough.

And after that seemingly failed attempt at finding whatever was looked for – or seemingly satisfactory feeling at the fresh ruins – it opened its wings and was ready to take to the air.

But loud grunts and the talking of people kept it from doing just that.

"Ouch! Who's sitting on my foot?" a muffled voice spoke.

"Ngour foot? Twy mwy 'ead!" an even more muffled voice sounded.

Some more grunting reached its ears and soon enough, the ones responsible for it came into view. And what a view it was: four people were apparently trapping themselves in... themselves, and arms and legs were sticking out in every direction as several methods were tested to get out of the mess. '_Well well, wouldn't this be an amusing sight'_, the creature thought, '_if it wasn't for their intruder status.'_

"Okay, everyone calm down! Ugh. Let's just... disentangle ourselves gently. Kari, you're on top, you get off first."

Several snorts were the answer to this rational statement, but eventually the teenagers did manage to get out of their mini homemade dog pile without too much of an injury.

"Well, I'm sure I've got over a dozen internal bruises now. Thanks a lot, Mr Whoever-Is-Responsible-For-The-Transportation-To-The-Digital-World", the one with the blue hair said sarcastically to the digital sky, which, sadly, did nothing godly in response.

The winged creature was not satisfied with their arrival and as its eyes took on a specific gleam that could be interpreted as an intent-to-kill look, it spoke out a harmless sentence that somehow, at the same time, sounded extremely lethal: "Time to give them a little surprise".

* * *

Joe was not happy with the way his life had turned out. No sirree, not happy at all.

At least, that was what he was trying to tell himself at the moment, thinking that once he persuaded himself of that mantra, an accompanied feeling of aversion would be invoked as well. Unfortunately for him though, he found that he had a harder time convincing himself of that transparent lie than he'd originally thought.

This would – to a good many people – sound peculiar, especially when taken into account the subject's personality, proneness to reality and all things down-to-earth, but the Digital World was an exception – possibly _the_ exception – to that level-headed behaviour.

And it really shouldn't, he told himself, because when he started wondering, the only logical answer he could come up with was that it was illogical.

How many life-threatening situations had he been in while he had been marching through endless deserts or travelling inside the mouth of a whale? How many times had he exerted himself in order to escape an evil digimon chasing after him and his friends? How many unreal and impossible things had he encountered during his stay there, which in itself wasn't exactly a five star hotel holiday? And how much precious learning time was he losing this very instant at the expense of a visit there?

Too much to his liking.

And yet.

Yet he couldn't help but love the Digital World, quirks and all. Yeah, to say that that line of thought was quite different from the first time he set foot there would be an understatement. Still, it was true; he had accepted its weirdness and wrote it off as something inherent to the dimension, and the fact that he did still surprised him to this very day. He could even recall that anticipated moment of departure and how he had caught himself missing remote telephone booths at the beach and smiling at the memory of random vending machines in a jungle landscape. It was just so weird that the more time he spent there, the less he cared about that weirdness.

See, I told you it was illogical.

What's more is that he couldn't deny how much he had cherished that particular sense of responsibility that went with the burden of saving the world. It had made him feel as if he was a somebody, an important factor that couldn't be missed, someone who could make a change. And he remembered all too well that that wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for the Digital World.

But most of all, he loved his silly partner digimon, Gomamon. The partner he had been friends with for years, through thick and thin, through bad jokes and safety rants, and who was the best friend he ever had. He thought so at least; after all, it had been years since the last time he had seen him or heard his idiosyncratic laugh. He missed him, more than anything. And it would be the biggest lie ever to deny that he didn't long for one bit of it to return to him.

Although, at the moment, these truths were kindly repressed by Joe's sullen mood as he was presently taking a breath from being crushed by his travel companions, who, he noticed, were busy appreciating the use of oxygen like himself.

"All right, so what happens next?" our blue-haired Ol' Reliable asked when they acted more or less normal again and had begun their latest stroll through the digital dimension, which, as a nice surprise, had dropped them off at an alluring flower field.

Questioning the next step in the grand adventure made him feel 12 years old again, with that particular excitement beating in his veins at the prospect of adventure and the sense of meaning something to the world. It instantly made him feel better.

But, before Izzy could give him a highly detailed description of his watertight plan, Joe's prospect became a reality. And not in a good way.

"Well well, what do we have here? A bunch of silly children who dare to trespass these lands?"

Everyone stopped dead in their tracks and looked around carefully to identify the owner of that cynical voice.

"Up here you dimwits."

Unconsciously, the tense Digidestined started to huddle together as their eyes quickly darted to the blue sky in unison. What they saw did not surprise them: a humanoid digimon – female, if digimon had genders – with black-feathered wings and a curve-hugging dark outfit that barely covered its skin. Both accentuated its evil nature, which was already guessed at, as did the evil smirk on its face.

TK bravely took on the role of the leader figure and asked: "Who are you and what do you mean "we're trespassing"? Last time I checked, the Digital World didn't belong to you."

Very brave indeed. Or very stupid.

Joe vaguely thought of a certain other leader and couldn't help but wonder if all leaders possessed that quality of making brave remarks sound incredibly stupid at the same time and actually get away with them.

The digimon's eyes immediately turned to narrowed slits, and in the blink of an eye she had conjured up a fireball in her long-nailed hand and hurled it at TK's head.

At least, that's what it looked like. When he opened his eyes again though, he saw that she had aimed a little ways off and had instead stained the flower field.

"Don't you _dare_ insult me again, little brat, or you will pay for it. Dearly." The humour was gone from her voice, and the venomous slits remained dangerously in place.

Joe gulped as the silence that followed that remark reigned. _'Haven't you learnt by now, stupid? You always get what you wish for. And usually in the worst possible way as well... If only Gomamon were here, too, then we'd show that hag just who's boss! Wow, I can't believe the adrenaline actually got me thinking like that. *nervous mental giggle* I guess Tai must be rubbing off on me. At least, Tai like he used to be...'_

The flying angry womon looked intently at each face and was apparently content with the effect of her threat, as she decided to answer TK's question.

"I am the Wind Warrior, and I speak on behalf of my master when I say that you are trespassers. And according to his rules, trespassers should be dealt with instantly." Her glance became more amused again, and she said: "But I see that you have absolutely no way to defend yourselves..."

'_Please don't kill us. Please let us go. Please, please, please.'_ Joe's new mantra played in fast motion.

"Which will make your annihilation even easier than it would've been." Her ruby red lips curved upwards in a sadistic smile while her voice's tone was utterly cheerful. "Goodbye Digidestined. It was nice meeting you; I rather enjoyed our little run-in."

'_So this is it? We're not even here for half an hour and we're already toast? Damn you, luck! Why can't you ever come at the right time? And wait a minute, she knew we were the Digidestined? Why didn't she kill us from the moment she saw us then? Aargh, never mind, we're going to die! Inhale, exhale, inhale, ex_– _Stay calm Joe, Izzy will figure something out.' _But when he allowed himself a glance at the redhead, he couldn't help but notice the equally desperate look in those dark glistening eyes.

_'Okay, we're screwed.'_

* * *

_Lesson Number One in Spying for Dummies: 'In order to keep your identity a secret, you must have one or multiple unsuspicious objects at your disposal in order to blend in'._

Matt Ishida, desirable bachelor in the Odaiban teenage rock industry, was currently sitting in a small and cosy coffeehouse called "Cuppy's Coffee". A name of which he wasn't sure it was an attempt at a funny pun – which it wasn't – or simply a reference to the owner – which he didn't wish on anyone.

He was sitting there with a newspaper in front of him that he lowered every so often in a fashion that would make him very suspicious if anyone would actually bother to pay attention to the blond. Which was not the case, since people with coffee tended to like their damping mug filled with caffeine in front of them much better than watching some guy, who didn't even have coffee, do some weird stuff. And, as a result, no one noticed him eyeing the cheerful and pretty waitress very attentively.

She was mesmerizingly serving the coffee-craving customers that were sitting conveniently next to him. _'Just... mesmerizing'_, Matt thought. Not that he was staring that intently of course, but he had somehow taken up the role of a detective – albeit an amateurish attempt – so as to figure out who exactly that very familiar-looking person was, and thus had no choice but to look attentively at his subject.

This was the second day he saw her, but since he just hadn't been able to overcome that attack of initial shock that easily the day before, and he had ran out of there as if he was a mad man on the run, he counted this as day one. '_It's cool now'_, he told himself, _'I'm cool. Oh shoot, she's looking. Newspaper… up!'_

"Hello sir, may I get you something?" Cue beautiful smile from her.

"Oh! Gee, I didn't see you there. And uhm, well,… uhm, c-coffee please." Cue stupid stuttering uncool me.

"I figured as much, but what kind would you like specifically?"

Cue brain on automatic pilot. "An espresso please, no milk, no sugar."

"Coming right up." And she left with another smile.

The smoothness of that conversation surprised him. Weren't girls usually fawning over him in bushes? And weren't they usually the ones to stutter in his face? How did the universe suddenly turn upside down? And was this asking-yourself-questions thing a part of his Spying for Dummies training? He did not know the answer. But he would make the blasted universe realign again at all costs to preserve his sanity; that he was sure of.

* * *

"... but perhaps I am in a good mood today and take no pleasure in killing you poor helpless lot." She smiled again in a rather teasing way and flew playfully in a circle around the Digidestined, in a way that was similar to a hungry vulture before it decided to feed on its prey on the ground. "Maybe."

She eyed the blond leader in particular and all of a sudden came down to his level to mock him, turning her body in the sky so that she was inches from his face but hanging upside down.

TK in turn did a remarkable job in not flinching at this twist of events and looked intently at her red intriguing and heavily-applied-with-mascara eyes that were taunting him to do something – anything – that would result in her gripping his neck and breaking it in two as easily as a twig.

"My, I see you are even more foolish than I believed you to be." Her teasing smile turned more and more seducing and she twisted her body in the right direction again. "I like that." She heard a squeak from behind her and immediately zapped to the small brown-haired girl to hold an arm threateningly on her neck, prompting another squeak out of the defenceless girl.

"Let go of her!" the knight in armour instantly yelled.

"Ah, I see you _do _have some common sense, pretty boy. Pity. You would've made such a nice asset to my collection of entertainment puppets."

She giggled at everyone's baffled faces. "What to do, what to do? Should I kill or let you go? Hmm... Tricky question. On the one hand, you are completely at fault for being here. But on the other hand, you say you didn't know this was forbidden land. I wonder what's more likely to convince me. Decisions, decisions..." She took on a posture that suggested she was thinking elaborately about their predicament.

"You know what, how about I just decide my temporary good mood is over and do take pleasure in killing helpless little humans?"

Kari was thrown back to her friends and TK caught her in his arms protectively. "Are you okay, Kari?"

"I'm fine, but we have to get out of here. _Fast_."

"Ah, sorry to break it to you hun, but I'm afraid I can't let you do that. Don't you worry though, this will be completely painless." The feathered digimon flew back up in the air swiftly and threw out her hands so that she was looking like a dark crucified angel – sans cross – and conjured up a circle of perfect fireballs around her. "Or not, I never experienced it myself. But judging from the cries I hear in response, I'd say it hurts as much as being burnt on a stake." She looked like she was suddenly thinking deeply about her own statement. "Gee, I guess I was wrong then, stakes usually hurt like hell, don't they? Well, too bad. For you that is. Bye bye now!"

But just as she was about to hurl her fireballs at the teenagers on the ground, she received scratches, fishes and air explosions to the face, which caused her concentration to dissipate, as well as her fire.

"Who dares to touch my face? WHO?" Fury appeared in her eyes, so that it looked like they were burning as well, and she quickly conjured up her fireballs again and started to throw them at the Digidestined in revenge.

They were blocked by some very familiar-looking creatures.

"Gatomon?"

"Gomamon?"

"Patamon?"

"You got it! Now, run to that hill in the eastern direction and hide!"

"Yeah, we've got it from here. And whatever you hear, keep going!"

The still baffled, but happy to see their friends again, children didn't need to be told that twice and immediately bolted for that hiding place, but not after digivolving their partners so that they'd stand a better chance at beating that annoying crazy digimon.

"Booyah luck!" Joe said in a rejuvenated way to which everyone replied with a face that obviously said 'what the hell'.

"O-kaay… As glad as we are to see you happy, Joe, we can't exclude that there might be a chance of them not beating her. She looked pretty strong to me back there", rational Izzy said.

"I thought so as well, but we can't give up on them, we have to trust that they'll make it while we are getting to safety."

"Oh, how I wish to have stayed there to help Gatomon wash that smug smile of that bitch's face! She definitely needs to be taught a lesson!"

This made everyone turn to Kari in surprise as well, seeing as she rarely spoke so defiantly about fighting another being. Or swore.

"Look! There it is, just a little further!" Izzy noticed.

And just at that moment, a Harpoon Torpedo, courtesy of the digivolved Ikkakumon, flew over their heads and exploded a couple of metres to their left. And although they weren't in the course of that torpedo, the sheer force it held knocked them off their feet.

"Oof... That does not look good."

"I know, but we have to keep running like they told us to. Is everyone all right?" TK asked in concern.

"Yeah, but I'm even more worried now. Are you sure we shouldn't go back to help them?" Kari voiced her own concerns.

A short silence gave away her companions' hesitations. "Well, statistically speaking, it's three against one, so they should manage... Let's go."

"All right... Hey, is it just me or does it really feel like we've just plummeted in another adventure in the Digital World that's way bigger than us?"

"I'd say the Digital World just likes us and wants to show that by putting us in charge of something we have no idea about. Again." TK joked at that.

"Well, can't argue with that. Come on, we're almost there."

With another worried glance to the direction of explosions, they resumed their run.

* * *

_Lesson Number Two in Spying for Dummies: 'Try to find out as much as you can about your enemy/subject/object without drawing attention to your motives. Use a false name if necessary.'_

"Did something worth reading happen today?" she asked him while she refilled his cup with strong-smelling coffee.

"Well, I don't really read that stuff, but the crossword puzzle is good today. If you want to, you can have it, I just filled out the Sudoku part." He smiled at his fluent sentence and at her seemingly genuine display of interest in him, and felt triumphant because of this nice possibility at getting to know her a little better.

"Oh that's okay, I have one of my own at the back, but thanks for offering. As it happens, I really like crossword puzzles." She was done pouring coffee and smiled at him, but he didn't want her to leave already so he asked her what her name was. It was a risky move, he knew it, but he had to know.

"My name? Oh, it's Aiko. And you are…"

"Who I am? I'm… Tai."

"That name sounds familiar, have I met you before?"

"Not that I'm aware of, but I would like to meet you some more if you'd like. You seem like a really nice girl." Time to throw in the big guns, AKA the Matt Ishida smile. "Are you free tonight?"

Aiko's posture stiffened and instead of falling for the up-till-now-infallible look, she coldly answered: "I'm sorry, but I'm not the dating type."

"Meaning you don't date? As in: at all?" _'I can't believe that didn't work. I must be losing my touch.'_

"Exactly that. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other customers. Enjoy your coffee."

_'No dating type? For real? I didn't even know there were non-dating girls on this planet. Or girls who can resist me. Maybe the universe really is coming to an end.' _He took a thoughtful sip from his coffee pot._'Well, I guess I can't complain; I've learnt a lot today: she likes crosswords like Sora, she smiles like Sora, acts like Sora, sounds like Sora and looks like Sora, but her name isn't Sora and she doesn't date. Though she did recognise the name Tai... Not that it's such an uncommon name, but still.'_

He stared at her again and could swear that she was everything what made Sora Sora, from the way that she moved to the way that she flicked her hair behind her ear in irritation of its length. And judging from his memory, she was the best lookalike he had seen so far, and could definitely be the _real_ Sora. Except that that option was impossible, because the real Sora had gone missing a long time ago and was declared dead and because that girl's name wasn't Sora.

Matt took another sip from his espresso at all that. _'There's something fishy going on here, and I _will _find out what that is.'_

* * *

**A/N**: I'd like to thank my course teacher of Analysis of Spoken Interaction for presenting me with such a boring syllabus and thus giving me inspiration to write today. Otherwise, well, I don't know when this would've been updated. And thank you for reviewing last chapter, I really appreciate all of them! Tell me what you think of _this_ chapter by clicking the nice review button! ^^ Oh, and I got the 'Cuppy's Coffee' from browsing Wikipedia (they teach us to name our sources to an obsessive level). Yeah, I browse Wikipedia for names when I can't think of a good one on my own; it's sad. But hey, did you know there are coffeehouses that're called 'The Unseen Bean' or 'Drinkmore'? Ha! Just in case you were wondering 'is that all she thought was good from looking at an entire list'. My answer to that would be: yes, yes it is. Although I thought 'Lollicup' made a good second.

-x-


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